There is seemingly as much confusion as there is popularity about the ancient way of meditation. Though widely practiced for thousands of years by many people from all walks of life and faiths, meditation is still a topic of misunderstanding. I have meditated on and off for many years while doing martial arts and also in recent years as part of my study of Buddhism. Here are some insights that I would like to share that I hope can give you clarity on what meditation is, what it isn't, and why everyone should be doing it.
Meditation is breathing and being present
There is no chanting. There are no special robes to wear. There is no need for beads, incense, or a full lotus position. Meditation begins with mindful breathing. When you focus on each breath, you bring yourself into the present moment. When you repeatedly practice bringing your mind in the present, a couple of things gradually happen; One, you are able to remain calm longer in times of stress and two, you are able to separate reality from anxiety more clearly. Too often we get ourselves spun up in our own minds because of our fears, worries, anger. We dwell in the painful past and we have made up worrisome fantasies about the future. These self inflicted monsters can steal our peace if we let them. We can learn to recognize them and stop these triggers before they take hold our emotions and our inner peace.
Meditation is not about emptying your mind, it's about shrinking your thoughts
Forget about the old Kung Fu movies. Much of that stuff is folklore. The fact is our minds are like computers. They fire thoughts continuously about this or project worry about that. The mind reacts to everything. Our minds seemingly manifest thoughts and ideas even when we are trying to not think. They do it even when we sleep. It's involuntary! Meditation teaches us to focus on the breath or focus on a particular issue for self exploration. You may or may not be able to stop thinking, but you can teach your mind how to focus. You learn to recognize these random thoughts and instead of feeding them, you let them leave your mind like a cloud a passing in the sky. Through meditation you can teach yourself how to tame your mind. Who wouldn't want to worry less or be able to focus better?
It's not about religion, it is a psychology of self
A lot of people, particularly Christians, run from meditation. The thinking with many of them is that when you sit still and meditate, you open yourself up to spirits and demons. Actually nothing could be more further from the truth. This is truly superstitious non sense. Meditation is mentioned over 28 times in both the old and new testament of the bible. Which none of the verses say anything against meditation, rather they seem to encourage it! Relaxing the mind and body is therapeutic. There is nothing wrong or dangerous about quieting your mind and looking within your self for understanding, peace, and clarity. When we give some quiet space inside ourselves, we provide the opportunity for important self realizations that otherwise we may have not acknowledged as we go through our busy days. Psychology, like meditation, can be describe as the study of the self or mind.
Meditation is used to gain self knowledge and peace
When you just sit with yourself, quietly, breathing, you gain insight into who you really are. All of the barriers and false narratives slowly dissipate. You begin to teach yourself how to recognize and release toxic thoughts and behaviors that steal your peace. With habitual meditation, you will understand yourself better and the world around you. This occurs because during meditation, it's all you. There's no one else to turn to. There's just sitting and basking in who and what you are. I think people are frightened by having to look inside themselves. We are afraid of having to unearth many of the traumas of childhood or having to face the "uglies" of our character. Growth comes from sorting through your mental and emotional baggage. The more we delve into those depths, the stronger and better we reemerge as people.
You don't need to sit down cross legged in a forest to meditate.
While I do a more formal meditation at home every day, I also do "short burst" meditations throughout my day. What I do is I will periodically just sit down in a chair, with my eyes open, and I take 5 to 10 mindful breaths. (by mindful I mean I concentrate on each breath.) I think about nothing but each breath. What this does is it brings me back to the present moment and it helps my body to relax which relieves mental and physical stress, particularly during a work day. I also do "walking meditation." This is done by walking instead of being seated and taking the same mindful breaths. You can do this in a park, or going to lunch, or even going across the parking lot before you enter work. It's a wonderful form of meditation that you can do to prepare for the day and no one will ever be able to tell that you're doing it!
When you tame your mind, you change
When you change your mind, everything changes. Perception of life, perception of self and others, all begins within the mind. If your mind runs wild each day, how much clarity and insight do you expect to have? By practicing meditation habitually; taming, softening, and calming the mind becomes much more easy to do. As you learn how to settle into yourself more comfortably, you will notice that how you see yourself will change for the better. And likewise, how you see others and the world around you will change. You will take on a special clarity about life.
You gradually become aware of your connection to all things
When you meditate daily, after sometime, you will begin to understand yourself and your true nature. When we can observe and understand ourselves more clearly, we can identify how connected we all are. By seeing and understanding this connection, your ego will begin to dissolve. When we dissolve the ego, our intentions and approach to life and to others begins to shift to a higher level of being. We begin to see and understand that our eyes lie to us. We figure out that we are not our skin, our clothes, our cars. We are not our job, our bodies, or our religion. We see that we are all the same. When ego dies, unity and connection can remain. No wonder that some groups are opposed to meditation!
It isn't magic. It isn't witchcraft or religion. Meditation is simply bathing within the temple that the divine made for you. Meditation is the battery for the mind. It is a natural way to understand yourself and become more comfortable in your own skin and at the same time, better understanding your journey. Wayne Dyer said, "If prayer is you talking to God, then intuition is God talking to you." I would say that meditation is an invitation to intuition. It is by this intuition that we truly learn to understand our true self.
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